Ejection means for ejecting tails and defective plates from a plate casting machine



1967 P. TOLLISON ETAL 3,300,819

1 t e e h 4 w W e I e T h C S 6 EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE Original Filed June 6, 1961 N wmu ATTORNEYS Jan. 31, 1967 P. TOLLISON ETAL 3,300,819

EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE Original Filed June 6, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS PAUL L. TOLLISON CHARLES L. RICARDS BY PAU J. SCH EPER ZAW, 1 I 4270* X ATTORNEYS FIG. 3

1967 P. L. TOLLISON ETAL 3,300,819

EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE Original Filed June 6. 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 PAUL J. Iscamerz 7 w T oRweYs 1967 P. TOLLISON ETAL 3,300,319

EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE Original Filed June 6. 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.5

INVENTORS PAUL L. TOLLISON CHARLES L. RICARDS Jan. 31, 196

P. L. TOLLISON ETAL Original Filed June 6, 1961 3,300,819 EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 W4 Ma,

INVENTORS PAUL L. TOLLISON CHARLES L. RiCARDS PAUL J CHKE PER ATTRNYS Jan. 31, 1967 P. 1.. TOLLISON ETAL 3,300,

EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DEFECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Shes t 6 Original Filed June 6. 1961 FIG. 7

lNVENTORS PAUL L. TOLLISON CHARLES L. RICARDS av PAUL .1 SCH EEPER 1 fi y fwd/Z2. Jay 6! zWORNEYS United States Patent EJECTION MEANS FOR EJECTING TAILS AND DE- FECTIVE PLATES FROM A PLATE CASTING MA- CHINE Paul L. Tollison, North Plainfield, Charles L. Ricards, South Plainfield, and Paul J. Schkeeper, Plainfield, N.J., assignors to Wood Newspaper Machinery Corporation, Plainfield, N.J., a corporation of Virginia Original application June 6, 1961, Ser. No. 115,145, now Patent No. 3,172,172, dated Mar. 9, 1965. Divided and this application Jan. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 425,818

Claims. (Cl. 22-3) This invention relates to a stereotype plate casting and finishing machine, and more particularly to an ejection means for ejecting tails which have been severed from east plates and defective plates from the machine. This application is a division of our oopending application Serial No. 115,145, now Patent No. 3,172,172.

Stereotype plate castings used in newspaper presses must be cast quickly and without any blemishes on the type surface because of gas evolving from the molten metal as it solidifies. Usually the plate is cast with the tail portion at the top of the plate as it lies in the mold cavity so that gases may rise into this portion and also to provide a sufli-cient reservoir of molten metal to counteract for shrinkage of the casting as it solidifies. tail portion is then severed from the casting and the cut edge of the remaining .plate portion of the casting beveled so that it may be fitted onto a printing cylinder. In addition, recesses are often milled on the underside of the plate so that the plate may be locked onto the printing cylinder by plate locking clamps mounted on the cylinder.

It is desirable that the complete machine be as automatic in operation as possible in order to reduce labor expense and the necessity of manually handling hot' castings.

It is, therefore, an object of our invention toprovide for a plate casting and finishing machine in which the steps from the act of casting until the plate is completely finished and cooled and ready for removal to the pressroom are completely automatic.

Still a further object is to provide means whereby severed tails and defective plates may be ejected from the casting machine and returned to a melting pot.

Broadly, we propose to provide for a plate casting-and finishing machine which has a casting station, a shaving station, an ejection station, a milling station, and a cooling station. The casting station comprises a movable core which cooperates with a movable box to form a mold cavity.

Core rotation means are provided for rotating the core to a horizontal position where pusher means may then push the casting into the shaving station. In the shaving station, the tailis severed from the casting and the severed edge trimmed by conventional means.

Propeller means are provided in the shaving station for moving the cast plate out of the station. The propeller means comprises a rotatable lug mounted on a lug carriage. The lug carriage in turn is slidably mounted in tracks on a rotatable knife bar which carries thereon a cutting saw for severing the tail section from the casting and knives for beveling the severed end of the casting. The carriage is connected to a drive chain which in turn is intermittently driven by the rotatable knife bar.

Powered rollers are provided to carry the severed tail from the shaving station to an ejection station and also to move the plate after it is moved out of the shaving station by the propeller means.

The ejection station of the casting machine has a pivotable arm therein which pivots underneath a severed tail to throw the tail from the machine onto a conveyor The .tion.

which returns it to the melting pot. The pivotable arm also has a control so that the arm may be actuated to eject a defective plate from the casting machine.

Referring to the drawings in which a preferred embodi' ment of our invention is shown,

FIG. 1 is a front partial sectional view of a complete plate casting and finishing machine constructed according to our invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of the shaving arch clamping drive means and of a part of the propeller arm drive means;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view of the shaving station and ejection station;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 taken along lines 4-4;

FIG. 5 is a' partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 taken along lines 55;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of FIG. 1 illustrating the ejection station; and

FIG. 7 is an end view of the ejection station shown in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, 1 denotes generally a stereotype .plate casting and finishing machine, in

which the ejector mechanism of the present invention is incorporated at an ejection station 2 which is disposed between a shaving station 3 and a milling station 4.

FIG. 3 shows the exit end of the shaving station 3 adjacent the ejection station in which the tail portion T of a cast plate .P is severed. The severing operation is effected by suitable cutting means (not shown) mounted on a rotatable knife bar 5 which is adapted to rotate through a complete revolution for each severing opera The mechanism for effecting the cutting of the tail is fully described in our British patent specification No. 881,226.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the ejector mechanism of the present invention is shown as comprising an ejector arm 6 which is rotatably mounted about a shaft 7 and adapted to be pivoted about the axis of shaft 7 by an ejector actuating mechanism comprisinga hydraulic actuat-or having a cylinder 8. A plurality of spaced powered rollers 9 support the tail after it has been severed from the casting in the shaving stat-ion and move the tail to the ejection station. Fingers 10, mounted on arm 6, extend between the rollers 9 and are adapted to engage an edge of a plate. When pressure is applied to the closed end of cylinder 8, the arm will be caused to rotate about shaft 7 to cause the tail to turn about one of its edges and to overturn onto a tail chute 11 with suflicient momentum to carry it on to a moving conveyor belt 12 as shown in FIG. 2 which returns the tail to the melting pot.

The tail is cast with a protruding portion 13 which is engaged by a stop member 14 mounted on the ejector arm so that the severed tail will not pass on from the ejection station. Cam means comprising a cam 15 mounted on -a rotatable cam shaft 16 and is set to trip and hold a switch 17 which controls by means of a solenoid-operated valve (not shown) admission of pressure to the cylinder 8. As shown in FIG. 3, a drive gear 16 mounted on the rotatable knife bar 5 meshes with a driven gear 16" which is keyed to the cam shaft 16. In this manner, the cam means 15 for actuating the ejector mechanism is controlled by the knife bar. The dwell of cam 15 is so proportioned that before the knife bar 5 completes its shaving and trimming operation and comes to rest, switch 17 is again tripped to de-energize the valve solenoid (not shown) and divert fluid pressure to the rod end of the cylinder 8 which will then return the ejector arm 6 to its down position so that it will not obstruct a plate being pushed out of the shaving arch. The ejector arm is held in the down position by fluid pressure in the The plate stop means shown in FIG. 7 comprises a stop 18 mounted on each of a pair of arms 19 each of which is connected to a rotatable shaft 20. Each shaft 20 also has an arm 21 which in turn is connected to a plate stop actuating means comprising a hydraulic actuator 22. The hydraulic actuator 22 is a single acting hydraulic actuator that. moves in one direction by fluid pressure and in an opposite direction by a spring (not shown) in the cylinder. Application of hydraulic pressure by a solenoid-operated 3-way valve (not shown) to the closed end of the cylinder will cause stops 18 to retract to the position shown in FIG. 7 and allow plates to pass by the stops on the rollers 9 without interruption, Release of pressure from the closed end of the cylinder of the actuator 22 will cause the stops 18 to move into the path of a plate to stop it and will hold the plate in the correct position where the ejector arm can engage it and kick it out onto the chute 11 from whence it can be returned to the melting pot by a conveyor. While plate stops 18 are primarily for intercepting plates to be ejected, an arrangement of the present machine is to provide for a 3-way solenoid valve controlling admission of hydraulic pressure to the actuator 22 which is contained in the shaving motor electric control circuit so that the stops 18 will remain in the intercepted position through the complete shaving cycle and in the retracted position shown in FIG. 7 only when the shaving motor is de-energized. This will insure that in the event the tail stop 14 shown in FIG. 3 fails to stop the tail after it is severed from the plate and allows it to fall on the powered rollers 9, the stops 18 will be in a position to stop the tail so that the tail cannot pass further on into the finishing part of the machine and cause a jamup. The result is that stops 18 will normally go through a complete cycle of operation on each revolution of the knife bar regardless of whether a tail or plate is ejected.

If for any reason it is desired to eject a plate, a push button 23 is provided as shown in FIG. 1 on the console of the machine which when pushed will set up a circuit to de-energize the 3-way solenoid valve controlling admission of pressure to actuator 22 thus maintaining the stops 18 in their extended position to intercept a plate after it has been pushed out of the shaving station. Immediately before the plate is intercepted by the stops 18, it will come in contact with a plate sensing means comprising a lever 24 which will be depressed to trip a switch 25 which will, in turn, activate the ejector actuating mechanism by energizing a solenoid valve (not shown) to divert fluid pressure to the actuator cylinder 8. This, in turn, will cause the ejector arm 40 pivot and to eject the plate in the same manner as a tail is ejected. When the ejector arm 6 reaches the limit of its upward travel, a cam 26 mounted on shaft 7 trips switch 27 which operates a solenoid valve to divert pressure to the rod end of actuator cylinder 8 to cause the arm 6 to return to its retracted position.

The plate casting and finishing machine is provided with a console 28 as shown in FIG. 1 which has thereon the controls for starting and stopping the machine and a counter 29 by which the number of castings in a single run may be controlled.

The control circuits connecting the various limit switches, interlocks, electric drives, and solenoid valves are not illustrated since it is not necessary in order to understand the workings of the various parts of the plate casting and finishing machine.

The circuitry of the machine is set up so that the first plate cast on any run is automatically ejected by the ejection station. This is because the core is usually too cool to produce acceptable plates and it takes one casting to raise the core to the desiredtemperature range.

As previously explained, a plate may be ejected at any time at the ejection station by actuation of button 23. The circuitry device is such that any rejected plate will not detract from the plates programmed to be produced and the counter will automatically compensate for the ejected plate.

We claim:

1. In a stereotype plate casting and finishing machine in which cast plates and severed tails are normally moved through the machine along a predetermined path, the improvement characterized by an ejector mechanism for ejecting a severed tail and defective plate from said machine comprising an ejector arm normally positioned below the path of movement of a cast plate and severed tail, support means pivotally mounting, said arm, a stop member fixed to said arm and normally positioned below the path of movement of said plate and in the path of movement of said severed tail, and ejector actuating mechanism for pivoting said arm about said support into engagement with a severed tail or defective plate to push said tail or defective plate out of its predetermined path of movement through the machine.

2. In a machine according to claim 1, the improvement further characterized by a rotatable knife bar rotatable through one revolution upon each tail being severed and cam means controlled by said knife bar for actuating said-ejector mechanism once for each revolution thereof.

3. In a machine according to claim 1, the improvement further characterized by plate stop means, plate stop actuating means for moving said stop means into the engagement with a defective plate passing through said machine, and plate sensing means for activating said ejector actuating mechanism when a plate is stopped by said stop means.

4. An ejector mechanism according to claim 1 further comprising a conveyor for conveying ejected tails and defective plates to a melting pot.

5. In a machine according to claim 1, the improvement further characterized by said ejector arm being mounted for pivoting movement about an axis extending parallel to said predetermined path of movement for pushing said tail or defective plate off to one side of said machine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,843,485 2/1932 Ishell 22-3 2,285,680 6/1942 Roesen 22-3 3,364,032 3/1944 Wood et a1. 22-3 1. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner. E. MAR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A STEREOTYPE PLATE CASTING AND FINISHING MACHINE IN WHICH CAST PLATES AND SEVERED TAILS ARE NORMALLY MOVED THROUGH THE MACHINE ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, THE IMPROVEMENT CHARACTERIZED BY AN EJECTOR MECHANISM FOR EJECTING A SEVERED TAIL AND DEFECTIVE PLATE FROM SAID MACHINE COMPRISING AN EJECTOR ARM NORMALLY POSITIONED BELOW THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF A CAST PLATE AND SEVERED TAIL, SUPPORT MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID ARM, A STOP MEMBER FIXED TO SAID ARM AND NORMALLY POSITIONED BELOW THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE AND IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID SEVERED TAIL, AND EJECTOR ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PIVOTING SAID ARM ABOUT SAID SUPPORT INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A SEVERED TAIL OR DEFECTIVE PLATE TO PUSH SAID TAIL OR DEFECTIVE PLATE OUT OF ITS PREDETERMINED PATH OF MOVEMENT THROUGH THE MACHINE 